Geomanifestations in North Serbia (Vojvodina)

The Panonnian basin is located in the Northern part of Serbia. That province of Serbia is called Vojvodina, with three regions: Banat, Bačka and Srem. This area is specific with a thinned Earth’s crust of only 25,5 km to 29 km, as a result of geodynamic movement. The average heat flow is between 83 and 111 mW/m2 (continental average 60 mW/m2), indicating a significant geothermal potential. From a geological point of view, the upper portion of the terrain contains Quaternary formations distributed over the entire territory of Vojvodina, except in some parts of Fruška Gora Mt. and Vršac Mountain area. Geomanifestations usually occur as thermal water, groundwater with a specific chemical composition, geological cross-sections, presence of gas. Some of these are presented below.

Around 80 boreholes with thermal water exist in Vojvodina. Most of the boreholes were drilled for oil and gas exploration with an average depth of 900 m. Water from deeper boreholes is usually strongly mineralized. The highest groundwater temperature is 82˚C, while the average is 44˚C. Thermal water is used for agriculture, greenhouses, industry, and heating, but mostly for balneotherapy, with a positive impact on health, body and soul.

One of the youngest spas in Serbia is the Vrdnik spa. The coalmine at this location existed until 1968. During mining, the Tertiary karst formation was penetrated resulting in the thermal water influx of 38˚C, which eventually caused the closing of the mine. Nowadays, the Vrdnik spa is very popular, and the whole area attracts many tourists.

An interesting place with peloid from the bottom of one of the Rusanda lakes and geothermal waters is the spa Rusanda. Healing mud – peloid has extraordinary properties and chemical composition and it has been used for therapeutic treatments at least since 1760. Near this lake there are boreholes (1300 m) with a groundwater temperature of 33°C (92°C was observed at 2000 m in a borehole that is no longer accessible).

In Torda there is a bitter groundwater that is used for bottling as mineral water enriched with selenium (‘St Đorđe’ water). This water is peculiar because of the high dry residue 2,65 g/l and high content of SO4 (1,52 g/l).

There is only one natural spring at the whole flatland area: the Slanjača spring (salt spring) in Stari Slankamen, near the River Danube. The temperature of this water is 18˚C with a mineralization of more than 6 g/l, and high concentrations of Na and Cl. The spring is used since the Roman period, and it is used for healing. The place is also interesting as a geoheritage of loess sediments. The loess cross-section recorded the climate change during the ice age (the Middle Pleistocene). Younger layers of loess were formed during the colder periods of this ice age, underlain by dark layers that evidence warmer periods during the ice age. Five layers of loess and five layers of fossil land are registered on the loess cross-section near Stari Slankamen as such a rare occurrence in nature.

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